DFA says it repatriated over 1.9K Filipinos from UAE in June

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs last month repatriated a total of 1,920 overseas Filipinos from the United Arab Emirates. 

In a statement released to reporters Thursday, DFA said 347 of the repatriates from UAE were distressed Filipinos who left Dubai on June 30 through a special chartered flight. 

"This is the third chartered flight this month especially mounted by the Department for UAE-based Filipinos," the agency said. "All passengers of DFA repatriation flights are required to undergo RT-PCR test 48 hours before the flight." 

Travelers from the UAE are currently barred from entering the Philippines until July 15, along with individuals from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Oman. The travel ban was hoisted to prevent the further spread of the more infectious Delta variant of coronavirus. 

Filipinos covered by the repatriation efforts of the government, however, are exempt from the prohibition provided they undergo quarantine and testing protocols but some overseas Filipino workers have urged that the ban be lifted, saying they have been stranded in their host countries for over a month. 

“We wish to assure our distressed kababayan in the UAE that we are not only firming up plans but executing these plans swiftly to bring them home at the soonest possible time, in accordance with the instructions of the president,” said Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Sarah Lou Arriola. “We will have more flights in the coming days." 

A special flight chartered by the DFA on June 2 brought home 364 land-based overseas Filipino workers. A June 17 flight brought home another 322 overseas Filipinos. 

A DFA-chartered flight with an estimated 350 passengers is expected to arrive on July 17. 

Two other flights, arranged by a local manning agency and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, expected on July 5 and 10, respectively, the department said. 

The Commission on Human Rights last Saturday raised the plight of OFWs, emphasizing that they "may grapple with the loss of their income, may experience fear and suffering as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, and may suffer from the emotional distress of not seeing their families." 

"While we understand that the ban on the return of OFWs was meant to prevent the possible spread of the new COVID-19 strain in the Philippines, the government should reconsider its imposition and allow Filipinos to come home to their families, even if it meant imposing stricter quarantine procedures upon their arrival in the country," Gwendolyn Pimentel-Gana, CHR focal commissioner on migrant rights, said.

— Bella Perez-Rubio